


Sleeve Tattoo

by SweetieFiend



Series: Dan and Suzy [1]
Category: Game Grumps, KittyKatGaming, Mortem3r - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Bonding, F/M, First Date, First Kiss, Fluff, Negotiations, Polyamory, Soul identifying marks, Soulmate AU, Soulmates, lovemaking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 15:47:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15489267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetieFiend/pseuds/SweetieFiend
Summary: Suzy has no soulmate and isn't as upset as others would feel. Arin has his, Holly has hers, but Suzy is happy how she is. Life happens that way sometimes and she wouldn't let something like that get her down. Until she notices one day, Dan starts acting different around her. It all started when she went into into parlor to get her tattoo…





	Sleeve Tattoo

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was written during the gamegrumpsbigbang challenge! I had a lot of fun working on this and am excited to continue to work on this universe in my downtime.

Suzy was sitting home alone. She had her music on as Mochi slept soundly at her feet. Her favorite song was playing and her head bobbed to the music. She smiled and looked down at the paper in front of her.

After almost a decade of planning and designing, her tattoo was finished in front of her. She found the artist to do it and her first appointment with him was at the end of the week, after a meeting at work.

Suzy sat back and looked at her left arm. She could already imagine the ink on her skin. She had postponed this want for so long. She felt happy doing something for her.

The front door opened and shut and Suzy glanced out of her office. Arin was standing at the doorway, slipping off his sandals. Mochi woke up and stretched, making his way over to him.

“Hey baby,” Suzy called. Putting the paper in her folder she stood and went to greet her husband. Arin held his arms open wide and gave her a hug and a kiss.

“Hey, sorry I'm late. I was gonna leave on time, but I got caught up with Ross,” Arin explained.

“Hey, it's okay. He’s your soulmate, so it happens sometimes.” She brushed it off. Arin’s relationship with Ross didn't bother her as much as it did a few years ago. It was almost a relationship ender for her.

“But, I'm home now and ready to just...do nothing.” Arin groaned as he walked over to the couch and collapsed. He glanced at his hands and sat up.

“Oh, Ross wanted me tell you he's sorry, and here's a beetle to prove how sorry he is.” Arin walked over to Suzy, who had gone to the kitchen.

Arin showed her his hand, which had a drawing of a beetle on it. Suzy smiled, she could tell it was Ross style. It was just like him too.

“Tell him not to worry about it. It's really fine." Suzy went to retrieve the chicken and dumplings that were on the stove.

Suzy was completely resigned to the idea of ever meeting her soulmate. If she did have one, she'd never met them. She was convinced she is the one person in a million who just didn't have a soulmate. When she met Arin, she was convinced they were soulmates, until Ross came into the picture. She knew that at the time she wasn’t fair to Ross. She was young and in love. She was happy that they’ve moved past that.

It didn’t stop the sudden pangs of jealousy. She wanted that bond with Arin.

It was one of the many reasons Suzy got so close to Holly. Holly had her own soulmate, but married Ross anyway. Even though it wasn’t entirely the same, it was nice to have a kind understanding ear. Suzy developed her own cynical humor about not having a soulmate, and she was fine with it.

As they ate their dinner, they went over their plans for the week. Even though they tried their hardest to keep work and home separate, it took up their whole lives. Working and living together didn’t come without its inevitable annoyances.

“So, the meeting is at noon on Friday, when’s your tattoo appointment?” Arin asked as he got seconds.

“It’s at four, so we’ll have a lot of time if the meeting is short and sweet.” Suzy sipped her drink.

“Yeah! Sounds good. We can even grab some food afterwards.” Arin sat back down. “You nervous at all?” Suzy shook her head.

“Not really. Like, I don't think it'll hurt? I'm more excited. But I know that when I actually see the needle I'll probably be anxious,” she laughed.

“Well good thing I'll be there!” Arin kissed her forehead.

“Thanks, babe.”

~~

Friday came and Suzy couldn't wait until the meeting was over. They didn't have much to go over, so hopefully she and Arin could leave early. She sat in the chair and her leg.bounced as everyone began to sit at the table.

Ross sat across from her and she passed him his folder. She did this with everyone as they came in. Arin settled next to her and they started the meeting.

It ran longer than she anticipated, she kept looking at her phone. They were going to be late if the meeting didn't end soon.

“You okay, Suze?” Dan glanced over and sipped his tea.

“Yeah I just didn't know we had this much to go over,” she admitted.

“Yeah, sorry.” Arin looked a little guilty.

“It's cool, don't worry.” She insisted.

“Do you know what your getting?” Dan asked.

“Yeah, I have the paper, wanna see?” she asked.

Dan nodded and straighten up from his slouched position. Suzy slid the paper over to him. Ross had leaned over to see too.

“Cool! This’ll be on your whole arm?” Vernon asked.

“Yeah! From my wrist all the way up to my shoulder. It's gonna be done four stages since it's so much.” Suzy trailed her finger across her left arm. Dan handed her the paper back.

“Awesome,” he told her.

They finished out the meeting and everyone went to their workstations. Arin scheduled to meet with Dan to record after Suzy's appointment.

~~

Suzy lay on her back at the tattoo parlor. Arin had her camera and she stuck her tongue out at him. The tattoo artist was getting the needle ready as Suzy gave Arin, and the camera a playfully worried look. She closed her eyes tight as the needle finally touched her skin.

~~

Dan's arm began to itch. He was with Brian, trying to get stuff for the band done while Arin was away. Brian and Brent were talking about something and he tried to focus. It was an annoying pricking feeling. Nothing too distracting, but enough that Dan went to scratch his arm every minute or so.

When the annoying itching feeling wouldn't go away, Dan excused himself to the bathroom. Maybe he needed some aloe. Maybe his leather jacket bothering his skin from the summer heat, even though he was inside with the cold air conditioning blasting in the office.

He closed and locked the door behind him and pulled off his coat. Placing it on the door handle as he looked down at his arm.

His eyes widened as he looked at it. Dan was expecting to see some redness and scratch marks. Instead he saw black ink. The beginnings of a skull. The design looked too familiar. It was the tattoo Suzy was getting.

Dan looked at himself in the mirror. It was exactly like the paper Suzy had shown him that morning. The skull, moth, hexahedron, and dots all the way up to his mid bicep.  

He shook his head to himself. He had to, he couldn't be her soulmate. Dan had gone his entire 34 years of life without ever meeting his soulmate. He had given up of ever meeting her. He hoped it would be a girl at least. But, not Suzy. It couldn't be Suzy. She was Arin’s wife, and he was not going to do that to them.

Dan leaned against the wall and sank to the ground. He had to record with Arin later that evening. He couldn't say anything. He'd have to hide his arm.

His mind was buzzing with so many questions as he tried to cope with the revelation. Did Suzy know? She must not have. She always spoke proudly of her not having a soulmate.

Dan pressed his hands to his eyes. He and Suzy had been friends for years. Was that one of the reasons they got so close? They were soulmates and unaware of it? Wasn't that how Ross and Arin’s bond grew? He couldn't remember. He gave himself a headache.

~~

Suzy's arm was a little sore when she got home. She kept gazing at her arm with a huge smile on her face. It looked so good. Years of work, finally paid off. Everything was going just as she planned it.

Arin took pictures of her tattoo so she could edit and upload. He left to go back to the office to record, leaving her at home. She was editing footage and posting the pictures.

She was receiving texts from her family. Her mother, who was originally against the idea, was praising her tattoo. Saying that it looked beautiful and wanted to see the finished product. Bless her mother's change of heart. It was nice.

Right as she finished editing her video she got a text from Arin. Dan had a sudden emergency and had to cancel their recording session. That was very unlike him. The man was married to his work, so the fact that he cancelled meant something must have happened.

Suzy sent Dan a text, just to make sure everything was okay and that she was worried about him. She's decided that since Arin would be unexpectedly home for dinner she’d order some take out.

~~

Dan was laying facedown on his bed. He didn't realise how tired he was until he actually laid down. He felt nauseous. He had to cancel his recording session with Arin. He couldn't face him right now, not with the knowledge he had.

He looked over at his left arm. The skull was staring back at him. Even though the skull didn't have any eyes. He groaned and turned away, he couldn't look at his own arm right now.

What would that mean for his relationship with his friends? Should he even say anything? Suzy had a right to know. They'd notice if he just stop showing his arms.

What about Ninja Sex Party? He had to dance around in spandex and be an available sex god to the lovelies. Makeup could cover up a tattoo this large, right?

Dan curled up and thought harder. He knew he needed to tell Suzy. He knew he had to be fair about that. But did she want him to be her soulmate? You can't pick and choose, but Suzy, he knew, didn't want a soulmate. She raved about being solo. He always admired how strong she was in that regard.

His phone went off and he sat up on his elbows and grabbed his phone. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Suzy had texted him. She was asking if he was okay. Arin must have told her about him cancelling. He chewed on his lip before answering.

He hated that he lied. He hated that he was lying to his best friends. A part of him wanted to sit them both down and tell them. He didn't know what to do. Even though he wanted to solve the problem now, all he wanted to do was hide away forever.

~~

Arin brought home the food Suzy ordered. They decided to take the night and catch up on Game of Thrones. Suzy was putting ointment on her arm when the smell of the food filled her nostrils. Coming downstairs, Arin had set them up in the living room. She was excited to have a lazy night after a good day.

~~

When Monday came around Dan was sitting in his car. He couldn't bring himself to go into the office yet. He had on his leather jacket and knew he would need to keep it on the entire day. He took a deep breath, he could do this. He turned off his car and headed inside.

Arin and Ross were already there. Dan was relieved to not see Suzy. He didn't know if he could look at her right now. Arin looked up and waved.

“Hey, Dan,” he said.

“Hey.” Dan held his hand up and went to the kitchen. He already needed some water.

“Everything alright?” Ross asked.

“Yeah, everything is good. I'm sorry about Friday, but I am ready to go for our extended session today.” Dan looked at Arin. He was actually terrified being in a room with him the majority of the day.

Dan made himself some tea and went into the recording room. They had to catch up from not recording Friday, so he was ready for an almost ten hour long day. He could last that long, he told himself. It was just him and Arin. Sitting on the couch, doing Grumps. It'll be like every other session. He just had to not think about how his best friend's wife was his soulmate. He groaned and reclined on the couch.

~~

Arin screamed at the TV as he died for the millionth time. Sending Dan into an uncontrollable laughing fit.

“Next time on Game Grumps we’ll figure this shit out!” Arin said in frustration.

“Hopefully, we’ll...we’ll work on it,” Dan giggled.

Stopping the capture and writing down the time Arin set the controller down. He stretched and groaned.

“Dude I need a break,” Arin told him.

“Yeah sounds good, meet back in ten?” Dan suggested.

Standing, Arin fixed himself, and left the room. Once the door was closed, Dan sighed and looked down his left arm. It was slightly bothering him, it felt prickly. Was Suzy’s feeling prickly. The tattoo was still fresh on her body. Was he feeling her feelings?

Double checking to make sure no one was looking, he googled soulmates on his phone. It was weird typing out the word. He had done it so much in his youth, it felt weird to be doing it in his thirties.

The first few links were nothing he hadn't already seen, the basics of what a soulmate was and how it worked. He understood that. When you meet your soulmate, whatever is drawn on your body, shows up on them. But what about people with tattoos? He decided to Google that.

He checked back to see if Arin was coming. He didn't want him to see. It was a while before he found a non forum based link. Before he could read, Arin came back.

“Suzy got you tea.” He handed him the cup.

“Oh, thanks.” He took it. It was warm in his hands. Knowing that it was from Suzy made him feel a certain type of way.

“Ready to keep going?” Arin asked, grabbing the controller.

“Yep. Let's go baby,” Dan replied.

~~

It was another month before Suzy's next appointment. She had been all over instagram and twitter about her new tattoo. She posted the first video on the process and it went over well. Arin was with her again to film. Bless his heart for taking time out of his schedule like that. The first go around didn't entirely hurt so she was more relaxed for this session.

She was on Twitter as her arm was worked on. Mugging for the camera and even getting an action shot of her tattoo being done. It took a few hours to get done.

Suzy admired her tattoo that night when they got back. Even with the fresh bits of skin still a little raw, she thought her tattoo looked beautiful. Only two more sessions until it was complete. Arin came into the room and sat beside her.

“Everything feel alright?” he asked looking at her arm.

“Yeah, just a little raw, but it’ll be fine!” She grinned showing him her arm.

“It’s looking really cool.” Arin grinned.

“Yeah, and in two more sessions I’ll be all tatted up!” she joked.

Arin leaned over and kissed her cheek.

“You’re adorable,” he told her.

“I know I am,” she said sounding playfully dismissive. She always reveled and appreciated when Arin spoke cute to her like that.

The next day at the office, Suzy had planned to record a Steam Train with Barry in the meantime. Arin scheduled some meetings for himself so the room would be cleared for her. Barry even offered to record with her since he was free.

She was standing over by Ross’ desk when Dan came into the room. Even in the August heat he wore his leather jacket. She knew Dan got cold easily, but right at the start of August? It was always heatwave city around this time of year. He even got a little hot.

“Hey Dan!” she called over and waved to him. She hadn’t had a lot of time to see him since he’d been married to his work more so than normal these days.

“Hey Suze,” Dan waved at her and nodded, only to turn away and make his way to the kitchen. Well, that was weird, Dan wasn’t usually dismissive like that with her.

Dan was making his way to the recording room.

“You’re recording with us too, Dan?” Barry asked.

“Huh?” Dan turned around to face them.

“I’m recording Steam Train with Barry today. Arin’s being a boss today and handling meetings,” Suzy explained.

“Oh…” Dan approached them.

“Did Arin not tell you?” she asked as she watched him fish his phone out of his pocket. After scrolling through it for a moment he nodded.

“There’s the text. I was driving.” He put his phone away.

“Aw, well it’s okay! You can record with Barry and me! We’ve never had just the three of us on the show.” Suzy was getting excited. “Three team steams” as they sometimes called them were always fun to do.

“Yeah, sure we can.” Dan grinned. He was mentally kicking himself for agreeing, but needed to get through it. He would have to endure sitting beside Suzy for at least ten minutes. He didn’t know if he could do that. No one knew what was up, and he couldn’t just blurt it out. Or even take off his leather jacket. The air conditioning would need to be off while they recorded too. He knew that even he would get too hot. He was always cold, but he had his limits, and his lack of working sweat glands would be his downfall. But, he still had a job, and Barry and Suzy were his friends.

~~

Suzy sat in the middle of Barry and Dan. Her arm was bothering her a little bit today and she didn’t want to risk bumping it into the couch, getting specks of blood on it. Even though she knew how to remove blood out of clothes and furniture, it was still an annoying process.

“How’s your tattoo?” Dan asked her as Barry was setting up the game.

“It’s fine. It’s coming along nice, right?” She beamed and showed it off to Dan. He stared at it and just slowly nodded. He looked as if he was examining something and trying to process a thought.

“Suzy…” Dan said softly. She looked over at him. Something was wrong, she could tell something was wrong. It was all over his face.

“What’s up, Dan?” she asked.

Dan looked at her, like really looked at her. He was trying to say something and Suzy was trying to figure out what. Before she could say anything, Barry plopped down beside Suzy and grabbed they keyboard.

“Okay, ready?” Barry asked.

“Yeah!” Suzy straightened out as Dan took a sip of his water.

“Yeah, ready.”

~~

The episode was over before any of them knew it. Dan actually got lost in the game and got into a friendly competition with Barry, but ultimately lost. It was a lot of fun, forgetting his inner turmoil for even ten minutes. After the episode, Suzy stood and stretched and Dan hated how long his eyes lingered on her body. He was being creepy.

“Wanna order lunch?” Suzy asked looking down at the pair.

“Yeah, we need to order now if everyone's gonna be here for the afternoon.” Barry was wrapping things up.

“I should probably go.” Dan stood.

“Aw, you’re leaving?” Suzy asked.

“Yeah, if Arin’s not here for Grumps I can get stuff for NSP done.” Dan was already standing at the door.

“You don’t even wanna eat something first?” she asked.

“I’ll eat. Don’t worry, Mom,” Dan joked. He tried to make it sound natural, but she rolled her eyes.

“Take care of yourself, okay, Dan?” she asked.

“When do I not?” He tapped his hand on the doorframe and she watched him leave the space.

~~

Suzy’s interaction with Dan stuck with her through most of the day. He wasn’t really behaving like himself. It was like he was pretending to act like himself. Like he was someone who sort of knew Dan, pretending to be Dan. Their recording session was fine. That seems natural, but when Dan left things were off. Especially with the way he behaved before they recorded. Why was he so stiff? He was going to tell her something, she knew it.

Suzy waited for Arin to get home. She knew he was tired from all the meetings he had from the day, but it was bothering her and there was no sense in hiding it. Arin would know, he always knew when something was wrong. When he came inside she was there at the door to greet him, giving him a big hug.

“Hey bug, you’re hugging me like I’ve been off to war.” He rubbed her back.

“Something's up,” she said into his chest. She could feel that he nodded without having to look up.

“Let me put my stuff down and I’ll meet you on the couch?” he asked. Suzy nodded and pulled away, heading there.  

Suzy was sitting on the couch with her legs curled to her chest. She was playing with her sleeve when Arin came into the room and collapsed beside her. He turned to face her more, resting his leg on the couch and his head in his hand.

“Okay, babe, talk to me,” he said.

“Well, how was work first?” she asked. She didn’t want to jump right into her problems. She wanted to know about Arin’s day. He just shrugged.

“It’s fine. I was an adult and did meetings with the people and shook hands,” he joked. That made her smile, Arin always knew how to make her smile. He reached out for her and rubbed her knee.

“Okay, tell me what’s wrong now,” Arin insisted, his tone sounding more serious and she took in a shaky breath.

“Has…Dan seem a little off to you recently?” she asked. Maybe it was just her and she could put her anxieties to rest.

“Off, how?” Arin asked.

“Like...like he’s hiding something? Like he’s pretending to be himself and everything is fine?” she explained. Arin looked up at the ceiling in thought for a moment.

“Um...no? I don’t think so? Why? Was he not himself today?” Arin asked.

Suzy explained how he acted when they recorded Steam Train. He didn’t interrupt her once and really listened. He nodded thoughtfully when she told him how he spoke to her before the episode.

“I really haven’t noticed anything, but if you want me too I can keep a closer eye on him,” Arin offered.

“You don’t need to like dress in camo and stalk his house. Just, if you notice anything let me know? I worry about him a lot.” She did. Out of everyone in their friend group she worried about Dan the most. He was overworked and under appreciated. He got sick easily and spread himself too thin, and didn’t take a lot of time for himself. She wanted to help him find a balance.

“Yes ma’am. You can count on me!” Arin saluted her which made her laugh. She needed a laugh. She had bogged herself down with worry and anxiety since the afternoon. Leaning into Arin’s embrace, she hugged him. He wrapped his strong arms around her reassuringly and he rubbed her back.

“I gotcha baby, don’t worry.” He kissed the top of her head.

“Thanks. Now, can we watch something mindless? I definitely need it.” She grinned.

~~

Dan sat on the grump couch as he waited for Arin. They were going to have an entire day of grumping to do and Dan wasn't entirely ready. He would need to wear his jacket the entire day in a non air conditioned room. Maybe he needed long sleeve shirts. At least then he could roll the sleeves up for the time being, but that wasn't his style, and everyone would notice.

Arin came into the room and plopped down beside him.

“Okay, so we're going to do a few one offs then get back into Katamari.” Arin was looking at their list of games to do.

“Sounds good.” Katamari was a chill non stressful game. It'd be fine, he thought.

They got their day started and the session went normally. They were laughing and joking with one another like normal. Arin would occasionally glance at Dan. Just to see if he noticed anything different about him, he didn't. Dan was being himself. Maybe he should bring Suzy up casually, to see how Dan would react.

They were half way into the current episode when Arin finally brought her up.

“Oh, so Suzy’s almost done with her tattoo. I kinda wanna get one now,” Arin said. It was lowkey enough that it wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary to talk about. He had been recording the last two videos for her channel, and he’ll be filming her last two sessions as well.

He did notice that Dan tensed up a bit when he said her name. He even crossed his arms a little bit and focused on the screen.

“You’re going to get a tattoo, dude? Of what?” Dan asked.

“I dunno, I kinda want something cool, but also maybe something funny.” Arin’s eyes darted from the screen to Dan. There was a visible difference in his body language.

“You should get like, tattoo your junk to look like a rocket ship or something,” Dan joked with him. That made Arin laugh. It was the perfect amount of absurd for them to keep going.

“Oh my god, yes! And when I get hard it’ll get bigger!” He laughed with Dan about it. The mental image, be it immature, still a funny image.

They finished up the episode and Arin paused the capture. He wasn’t sure if now would be a good time to bring up Suzy again to Dan, but it would bug him the rest of the session if he didn’t. They would need to talk about it now. Arin wasn’t one to speak for Suzy, she could do that on her own, but he wasn’t about to sit down and let his best friend behave that way to his wife. Maybe Dan wasn’t even aware of his behavior, or at least Arin hoped so.

“Hey, can we talk?” Arin asked. Dan had leaned over to take a sip of his tea.

“Yeah, what's up?” he asked, turning to face him on the couch.

“I just noticed you got a little stiff when I was talking about Suzy earlier. Everything okay with you two?” he asked. He saw how guarded Dan got again. He didn’t look Arin in the eye and fiddled with the sleeve of his jacket.

“Yeah, everything is fine,” he said.

“You know if something is up you can tell me, right?” Arin asked.

“Of course I know that!” Dan snapped. That wasn’t convincing at all. That confirmed that something was definitely wrong. He stood and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Look, I won’t dig into you about it, but if something is wrong, please talk to her. She can feel it. That’s why I asked. It’ll be between you guys.” Arin backed off. He wasn’t one for personal confrontation. He felt weirdly in the middle between his best friend and wife. Dan nodded.

“I gotta take a break, okay? Twenty minutes and I’ll be back to finish the session?” He gave Arin a pleading look. Arin nodded.

“Yeah, see you in twenty.”

~~

Dan wasn’t sure if he wanted to throw up or cry. Arin knew. Suzy knew. It was only a matter of time before everyone knew. He took of his jacket, grateful for the coolness of the bathroom air hitting his skin. He looked in the mirror, pulling up his t shirt sleeve to look at the new addition of a skull on his bicep. It did, he admit, look really cool. Suzy had such good taste.

Dan sighed and sank to the floor. He was denying the inevitable. He knew that he needed to tell Suzy. It was only fair. The idea of hiding his arm the rest of his life wouldn’t work even if he wanted to. He had known Suzy for so long. It was weird after being friends for so many years, finally finding out that they're soulmates. Pulling out his phone, he texted Suzy. It was a quick message, but he needed to see her. He put his phone back into his pocket, standing and pulling his jacket back on he went back to finish his session with Arin.

~~

Suzy couldn’t sleep that night. Dan wanted to meet up with her for coffee in the morning. He said that he wanted to talk to her about.

She hated messages like that. Just tell her what the something was to put the brain weasels to rest. When Arin came home from the office he didn’t really help. Finding out that Dan got anxious at the mere mention of her name worried her. What did she do to him?

Arin was slipping on his sandals when she came down. She was dressed for the summer, tattoo showing proudly. She wasn’t done up nice and fancy, just lowkey and comfortable to meet up with a friend. She still hoped they would be friends by the time this coffee date was over.

“Are you going to be okay?” Arin rubbed her arms. He looked worried for her. She nodded and squeezed his hands.

“I’ll be okay. It’s Dan, we...we can figure it out.” She nodded. She was saying it more for herself than for Arin. He leaned down to give her a peck on the lips.

“Just, keep me posted?” he asked.

“I will.”

~~

Suzy entered the coffee house and looked for Dan. He wasn't hard to miss in a crowd, but worried she had gotten here too early. She found him sitting at one of the smaller tables by a the bathrooms. There was a large portrait of a coffee cup over him as he held a cup in his hand. She waved at him, to get his attention as she went to stand in line.

After ordering her coffee, she went over to Dan and sat across from him. He looked tired and was fiddling with the lid of his cup. He looked up at her and gave her a smile. He looked happy to see her, and she was happy to see him.

They rarely got one on one time together, so this was nice. The nagging feeling in the back of her head pestered her though. She knew that they were here for a reason, and she was anticipating what it was.

“Hey.” Dan grinned and straightened up.

“Hey.” Suzy set her purse on the back of the chair and took the lid off her coffee. It was still very hot and she needed to blow on it.

“How um, how are you? How’s your morning been?” Dan asked.

“Um…” Suzy thought about how she wanted to answer him.

Dan sighed and sat back, running his fingers through his hair.

“Do you just want to get to it then?” he asked. Suzy glanced at him and put the lid back on her coffee.

“I guess…” She took a small sip, still too hot. “So, what’s the problem?” she asked. Dan’s eyes darted to everywhere around them, except for her. She took note of that, why couldn’t he look her in the eye? She followed his gaze to her left arm. Her tattoo was healing nicely.

“What?” She looked at her arm.

“Does it itch?” he asked curiously.

“My tattoo? Um, not really. Not right now, why?” she asked confused. “Has the reason you’ve been so off is because of my tattoo?” she asked. That didn’t make sense to her.

Dan stiffened as he looked around. His face was slightly flushed and he focused more on his cup than her.

“Dan, you can talk to me. Why’ve you been so weird? Have I done something?” she pressed him. She needed to know what was wrong so they could fix it. She was tired of what he was doing and wanted it fixed. Dan looked at her and waved his hand.

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong,” he told her.

“So why’ve you been avoiding me?” she asked.

“I um…” Dan scratched the back of his head. “I...It’s me, I don’t know how to say it.” He was chewing his lip.

“Then just say it. Whatever it is I’m sure it's not a big of a deal as you think it is.” She was sure of it. Dan looked at her, really looked at her. It took Suzy a little off guard. She looked back at him and she felt like she was staring at more than just his eyes. It was like she was seeing the world from his eyes. It freaked her out. She hadn’t stared at Dan like that before and being able to feel so much threw her off. She gripped onto the table to try and keep her grounded, afraid she was going to fly off into space.

Looking around the coffee house, Dan sighed. He glanced back at Suzy as he pushed his chair back. Grabbing the front of his coat he pulled it off his shoulders, letting his jacket rest at the back of the chair. He pulled out his right arm first and hesitated to pull out his left. As if he was gathering the courage to do so, he pulled out his left arm.

Suzy felt like her heart stopped completely. She looked down at Dan’s arm, which now rested on the table. His arm shared the exact design of her tattoo. Every little detail that was on her arm was on his own. His skin didn’t look red or raw, like he had gotten a tattoo also. The tattoo on his skin just looked like a copy of her own. Her heart began to race as realization began to hit her full force.

“You’re…” She couldn’t look away from his arm.

“It...freaked me out too,” he said.

“We’re soulmates...you’re my soulmate.” She looked at Dan. Neither of them knew what to say.

~~

They both had to go to the office today, taking separate cars to get there. Dan had offered to drive Suzy, but she declined, saying she needed time to think, and Dan understood. Suzy sat at the traffic light, holding her head in her hand as she waited. She looked down at the tattoo on her arm; it was only half finished. She thought of Dan. As she got more of it done, it would appear on his arm as well.

Apart of her felt guilty, she wasn’t sure if Dan even wanted a tattoo, he never really said before. Now he was stuck with an intricate one on his arm, because of her, since they were soulmates. Someone honked behind her and she slammed the gas pedal a little harder than she should have. Maybe she should have accepted the ride from Dan, she needed to get to the office.

When she got into the office, Dan wasn’t there yet. She needed to talk to Arin. She wondered if Dan had told Arin. Probably not. Arin would have said something to her sooner. She went over to her desk and set her stuff down and collapsed in the chair.

“Hey, Suze.” Barry looked over at her from his desk.

“Hey, B.” Suzy pulled her hair back.

“You okay?” he asked. She knew he could tell something was wrong.

“I’ll be okay.” She nodded at him.

“You sure?” He pressed. It was hard for her to hide things from Barry. They were really close, but she needed to talk to Arin first.

“Yeah, I’m sure. We can talk later, okay? Don’t worry.” She tried her best to assure Barry. She didn’t want this looming over her head today. She needed to keep busy. She had work to do. She could deal with this crisis after work.

Later on, Suzy walked by the recording room. She could see Dan and Arin on the couch recording for grumps. Her heart jumped into her throat. She was happy to see Arin of course, but when she saw Dan, she didn’t know what she was feeling. Arin looked over and waved through the window, Dan looked over at her too. She waved at the window, she wasn’t sure if she was just waving to Arin, Dan or the both of them. Dan didn’t wave back, he looked back to the television. Arin seemed to take notice, and Suzy didn’t want to distract them anymore. She went back to work.

Suzy didn’t tell Arin about their conversation. All she told him was that things between her and Dan were okay. He didn’t hate her and she didn’t hate him. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Dan exactly. He was one of her best friends, they’d always got along well. He was a sweet, gentle guy. He reminded her of Arin a bit.

She sat back on the couch as she thought. Arin was out of the room which gave her a chance to really chew over her feelings. Had the reason she gotten along with Dan so well was because they were soulmates? She guessed they’d been soulmates since they met, just unaware of the bond.

Suzy remembered how not too long after Brian visited for the first time, he and Holly connected as soulmates. Brian met Holly, and the next day she wrote a memo down on her hand and it showed up on Brian’s. Since then, the tattoos Holly had gotten, had shown up on Brian's body. But his were easier to hide. She sat up. She should talk to Holly. She had experienced a similar situation, maybe she could have some advice.

She sat back as she looked at her phone, ready to text Holly. As far as she knew, only her and Dan knew about their bond. She should talk to Arin about it first. She didn’t feel right talking to anyone else about it first. Taking a deep breath, she set the phone down and waited for Arin to come back out.

~~

Suzy wasn’t able to start the conversation until they were in bed. Arin got into one of their new games and she didn’t want to distract him. She wanted him to relax after working all day, she even got herself wrapped up in the plot of the game. It was a good distraction. But now that she was in bed, her mind was open to everything that was pushed onto the backburner.

Turning to her side she looked over at Arin. He had just climbed into bed and got comfortable.

“Hey, babe,” Suzy spoke up.

“Hmm?” Arin turned to face her, taking her hand into his own.

“So....Dan’s my soulmate.” She decided to be as blunt as possible about it. Arin didn’t really seem phased at what she said, more confused.

“Dan’s your soulmate?” he repeated.

“Yeah, my tattoo is on his arm. That’s why he’s been so freaked out lately,” she explained. Arin laid on his back to look at the ceiling.

“That’s….cool?” he looked at her and she sat up.

“You’re cool?” she asked.

“In what sense?” he asked.

“That Dan’s my soulmate and we didn’t know for, like, years,” Suzy explained and Arin shrugged.

“I didn’t know Ross was mine for a year, and I mean, I think it’s awesome how out of anyone in the world, he's your soulmate.” Arin yawned. She wasn’t sure how to respond. She needed to chew through this more on her personal time. But, she told Arin, which was what was important to her. Arin rubbed her back and gently pulled on her shirt to get her to lay beside him.

“You have a soulmate, babe. This is a good thing,” he told her. Suzy didn’t answer him. She let herself be comforted by Arin’s embrace as he stroked her hair. He thought that Dan being her soulmate was a good thing. So why was she so hesitant to be happy about it? She had no idea.

~~

It was their weekly meeting and Suzy got to the office early to set up. She wasn’t sure with how long she would be there for the day. She wanted to be ready for her next tattoo appointment. She was excited, but all she could think about was Dan. The new addition would show up on his arm. She thought about telling him, give him a heads up at least.

Ross and Barry were in next, followed shortly after by Brian. They fell into their normal routine and Suzy tried to act as okay as possible. As far as she knew only she, Dan, and Arin knew about the soulmate thing and she wanted to keep it that way for now. The thought kept bugging her that their tight knit friend group wouldn’t care about their bond, but it was a sensitive subject for Suzy, and possibly Dan too. They really needed to talk.

Her eyes went to the door when she saw Dan. He had a cup of tea in his hand and, worse, his jacket. He was still keeping the tattoo hidden, which was fine. Suzy had that feeling. They made eye contact and Suzy felt her heart tighten. She was much more aware of Dan now that she knew. She felt like she was being pulled to him like a magnet. Without breaking eye contact, he made his way over and sat down next to her.

The meeting started when Arin finally showed up. Dan was quiet for the most part, just following along mostly. Suzy spoke up for a lot of it. She was the most organized of them and she had a better handle on the scheduling. She noticed that whenever she spoke Dan really watched her. She hoped it wasn't noticeable. She was the one speaking so of course he would look at her. But why did he have to look at her like that?

Afterwards everyone got to work and Suzy pulled Dan aside. She took him to her desk so it looked like she was showing him something.

“What's up?” he asked, leaning over her chair.

“I told Arin,” she told him bluntly. There was no point in dancing around it. She knew he would know what she meant. He blushed and tensed, looking over his shoulder.

“It’s...he’s okay with it,” she assured him as she touched his hand. Dan looked down at her hand.

There was a moment between them. Touching each other was something they rarely did. They looked at each other, her green eyes on his hazel. They’d experienced something similar the other day over coffee.

 

Dan pulled away and looked around, worried someone would notice. Suzy coughed and looked back at her computer.

“Just...it's okay, okay?” she said.

“Yeah, okay.” He straightened out and went to record with Arin.

~~

Dan was anxious as he sat beside Arin. There was an elephant in the room and he wasn't sure whether to address it or not. Arin was setting up the game for the day as he sat on his side of the couch.

“Okay, I'm ready to start when you are," Arin said, getting comfortable.

“Um…” Dan wasn't sure if he wanted to start.

“You cool?” Arin asked.

“Suzy told me you know?” He looked at Arin, guess they were gonna talk first.

“Yeah, can I see actually? I was wondering what it looked like on you,” he asked curiously.

“Um…” Dan blushed and looked down at his jacket sleeve. He'd shown no one his arm since Suzy got her tattoo. Thank goodness him wearing a leather coat in August didn't seem off to anyone.

“Was that too invasive?” Arin asked and Dan nodded.

“I’m uh...still digesting that, you know?” he told Arin.

“Digesting? With your tummy problems?” Arin tried to make light of it and it got a small smile out of Dan.

“Yeah, digesting all this. It's like taking a shit for the first time in a week.” Dan grinned and looked over at Arin, who was laughing loudly.

“I, fortunately don’t have that problem.” Arin patted Dan's shoulder making him laugh.

“Yeah, you’ll forever be the complete opposite of me when it comes to taking shits.” Dan giggled as he spoke, Arin laughing with him. Once the mood settled Arin patted Dan on the shoulder.

“It's okay, okay? You're still my best friend. That hasn't changed.” Arin tried to comfort Dan. He nodded.

“It's okay,” Dan repeated.

“Can we start the session?” Arin asked.

“Yeah. Go for it, baby.” Dan sat back and let Arin hit the record button.

“Welcome back to Game Grumps! Dan and I were talking about taking shits!”

~~

It was the most normal Dan felt in a while. Somehow, now that Arin knew and they sort of talked, it was okay. He didn't have to hide anything. He didn't have to dance around the topic around him. It wasn’t like soulmates came up in recording sessions anyway. The lovelies knew about Arin and Ross, and that was all that mattered.

Dan did worry about his band. Maybe he could cover his arm with makeup? Should he tell Brian? He deserved to know at least. But if he knew, his wife would know. Holly was Brian's soulmate so she would know too, and then by extension Ross. What about Barry? The whole office would know except for him, and maybe Vernon. That wouldn't be fair. Barry was Suzy's best friend, what if he already knew too?

Before he knew it, the session was over and Arin was packing it up for the day. Dan stood to stretch when Arin turned to him.

“Why don’t you come over for dinner?” he invited.

“Uh, would that be okay? It’s so last minute,” Dan asked and Arin shrugged.

“Suzy and I weren’t planning anything special,” Arin said.

“If...it’s really okay, I guess.” Dan ran his fingers through his hair nervously.

“Yeah, you’re cars here right? Just meet at my house, okay?” Arin grinned and slipped on his sandals.

“Alright, sure.” Dan wondered if Suzy was going to be staying late at the office, or going to see a friend, or do anything that didn’t involve being at her own house.

As he got in his car to drive over, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat excited. It had been some time since he’d been over and even though things were awkward, Suzy was still his friend, and he liked to see and hang out with her.

~~

Suzy was expecting Arin to just walk in the door, not a knock. She perked up and went over to the door cautiously as she wasn’t expecting anybody. She prayed it wasn’t a over eager fan who crossed a line. Looking through the window she saw Dan’s car. What was he doing here? She answered it and looked up at him.

“Hey, Dan.” She smiled.

“Hey, is Arin here yet?” he asked.

“No, he’s not with you?” She stepped out of the way to let him inside.

“He invited me for dinner, did he not tell you?” Dan only had one shoe off and was preparing to put it back on.

“Huh?” She shut the door and went to her phone. Discarded on the couch, hidden under Mochi, was her phone with a text from Arin, saying that he invited Dan over. She sighed.

“No, it’s my fault. Make yourself at home.” She sat on the couch next to Mochi and answered Arin.

Dan came in and sat on the other end of the couch. There was a heavy silence in the air, they were both looking at their phones.

“Arin is at the store so he’ll be back soon.” Suzy set her phone down.

“Okay.” Dan looked the other direction.

There was another moment of silence. Suzy hated it. She never felt this awkward around Dan before, and she shouldn’t be now. She huffed and faced him, crossing her legs on the couch.

“Dan, this is dumb. We’re being dumb. Nothing changed. We’ve been soulmates since we met, we just...we just didn’t know it and that’s okay!” She was out of breath by the time she was done, laying out how she felt right in front of him, just to get it out of the way. Because, they were being silly. Nothing about their friendship change. They were just aware of an unknown bond.

Dan listened to her and sat up on the couch. Turning to face her he took a deep breath. Sighing and running his hands through his hair, he exhaled.

“I think...I think I always had a feeling? But ignored it? Thinking that like, I’m just a lonely old man and you’re a beautiful girl.” Dan chewed on his lip and glanced at her.

Suzy was pink in the face. Arin had been the only person who had called her beautiful and it felt real. Her mother and family call her beautiful, she’s apart of them. Even with her twin, she was beautiful in her own way. Online, she was a makeup guru, comments, the positive ones at least, would call her beautiful.

But with Dan...when Dan called her beautiful, in that moment, she felt like a teenager again. Her heart swelled up and she felt breathless. It felt real and sincere.  Should she say something back to him? She always found him attractive in his own special way. Would he even want to hear that right now? She scooted closer to him.

“You’re not an old man, Dan,” she told him.

“I’m older than you,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, well, so’s Arin and he’s not old.” There was something else Dan was trying to say. She had a feeling on what it could be. Their age different was ten years, which didn’t bother Suzy in the slightest. Dan was just...Dan. Dan let his arm rest on the back of the couch and watched Suzy.

“I know,” he sighed

Arin came in the door with grocery bags in his hands. Suzy went up to help bring them in while Dan stood awkwardly in the kitchen. He had gone shopping, planning on making a dinner for three.

‘I could have helped you, man,” Dan said feeling guilty, but Arin shook his head.

“No, it’s good. You would have slowed me down in the store.” Arin set some bags down.

Arin got right into cooking, shooing Suzy and Dan out, saying that they would be in the way. They sat on the couch together, a little closer than they normally would have on a couch that could seat four. Mimi was curled on the back of the couch sleeping.

Suzy and Dan's arms were barely touching, but she could sense all of him. His breathing, his heartbeat, the way he swallowed just a little. Maybe his throat was dry.

“Are you thirsty?” she asked

“Huh?” Dan looked at her, his face a little pink.

“Do you want some water?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Yes, please.” He watched her stand up and walk toward the kitchen, coming back with a glass. He took it and sipped. Before long Arin had dinner ready and called them in.

Arin had made ramen for them. The noodles weren’t handmade, Dan was able to tell. He guessed that with the time they had and how last minute this was he got premade noodles.

“Thanks, babe.” Suzy kissed Arin’s cheek.

“Thanks, Ar.” Dan picked up his chopsticks.

“I like doing things for my two favorite people.” Arin grinned widely at them. Dan grinned and dug into his bowl.

There was a silence in the air as they ate. Dan thought that was why Arin invited him over. They were all probably going to have some sort of talk. The ramen was good though and focused on enjoying it.

“This is good.” Dan grinned at him. He knew he was making small talk.

“Thanks, man.” Arin coughed. “Okay so, I wanted to say something,” He started. Dan called it. The elephant in the room was going to be addressed. Suzy looked up at Arin, noodles hanging from her chopsticks.

“I wanted to talk about you guys being soulmates,” Arin started. Dan flushed and coughed.

“Ah, y-yeah?” Dan looked over at Suzy who was glancing at him. Her green eyes felt like they were staring into his soul. He felt like he could see her soul. There was anxiety and uncertainty, but an odd calm. Dan focused on that. The calm Dan could see in Suzy grounded him.

“So like, Ross is my soulmate, right? We’re friends, and we’re fine. That should apply to you two.” Arin laid it out. Suzy nodded in his direction.

“Before was hard but, yeah, you’re right, babe.” Suzy fully admitted that the first year of Arin and Ross’ bond was a hard one for her. But she was younger and more, territorial over Arin.

“Do you and Ross do...anything?” Dan asked and Arin flushed. There was an implication when it came to soulmates. Soulmates don't always have to be romantic or sexual, but depend on the person, the bond between soulmates could have those aspects.

“Uh, it all depends. It's a comfort thing. It took awhile before Ross and I decided that it was something we wanted.” Arin spoke as a matter of factly. Suzy looked over at Dan, he had trouble keeping eye contact.

“You have my blessing to do whatever. It’s all I’m saying,” Arin said.

“Okay...we should all be on the same page I think. That’s what you do with Ross and I should do the same for you.” Suzy looked at Arin as she spoke. She was about being fair. She wasn’t sure what her relationship with Dan would become, but it was nice to have the wiggle room to figure it out.

~~

The next appointment for Suzy's tattoo was approaching and all she could think about was Dan. Looking down at her arm she could imagine the new ink on Dan's skin. She smiled a bit, something about having her tattoo on him was nice. Maybe it was their bond poking at her brain.

Relaxing back against her chair, she pulled out her phone, ready to text him, but a thought came to her. Whatever was written on someone's skin, showed up on that person's soulmate. Looking at her right arm she wondered. It was just a quick message.

She grabbed a black pen and held it in her left hand as best she could. She clumsily wrote "test?"

She wanted to be sure it worked. Even though she knew in the back of her head it did. She didn't trust her writing skills, with her left hand at least.

Sitting back she waited. Staring at her arm, would Dan write back? Or would he just text her. Texting probably would have been quicker. But she wanted to be sure. Sure enough underneath where she wrote test, Dan's handwriting showed up.

She grinned and drew a smiley face beside the words. Something about this was fun. She would see the look on Arin’s face when he would do this with Ross. His arm would be littered with drawings, mostly of dicks, but some heartfelt drawings.

Suzy watched as her smiley face was circled and given a stick figure body. It was magical to watch and she didn't realise she could hear her own heartbeat. She was communicating with her soulmate. She turned when she heard her phone go off. Setting the pen down and picking up her phone she saw a text from Dan.

Setting her phone down she was a little sad Dan couldn't go. But maybe it was for the better in the long run. She didn't want to pressure him into doing things with her.

~~

Dan was in the recording studio with Brian. He was grateful the air conditioning was on, his leather jacket excusable. Brian still didn't know that Suzy was his soulmate, no one at the office knew besides Arin. Apart of him felt guilty for not telling Brian. They'd been friends for so long, they told each other everything.

He knew Brian noticed something was up. It was hard for Dan to concentrate. His arm itching ever slightly. He knew that Suzy was getting her tattoo. By the time he took his jacket off, more black ink would cover his skin.

“You need lotion or something?” Brian asked, setting his laptop to the side.  

“No, I'm fine.” Dan brushed it off.

“You've been spacing out all day, what's up?” Brian asked. Maybe Dan should tell him. He would have to find out sooner or later.

Dan looked down at Brian's hand. A black crescent moon was on his right pointer finger. Brian and Holly we're soulmates, maybe that's how he could ask.

“Um, when Holly got that tattoo how did it feel?” Dan asked. Brian looked down at his hand confused. He and Holly had known their bond from the first visit to California.

“I didn't really feel anything,” Brian admitted and arched and eyebrow. “Why?” he asked.

Biting his lip Dan looked down at his arm. He did what he did with Suzy. He went for it. Looking around to make sure they were the only ones in the room, he pulled up his jacket sleeve. He could see the new parts of the tattoo forming on his arm. Those were the parts that itched.

“Oh, wow.” Brian went wide eyed. “That's definitely a lot of soulmate right there.” Dan blushed and pulled the sleeve back down.

“I'm guessing this is new information?” Brian asked and Dan nodded.

“I knew when Suzy went to get the first part of her tattoo done,” Dan explained. “I'm not sure when Suzy found out but…” He sighed. “It was a lot to really take in.”

Brian leaned over and placed a strong hand on his shoulder.

“I get it. I really do. If you want to talk I’m all ears,” Brian told him. Dan knew he was being sincere. He knew that Brian loved to get on his nerves at every weak moment, but they were still best friends, and Brian knew how to act like one.

Dan decided to tell Brian everything, his anxiety, his worry, the talks he had with Arin and Suzy. He told Brian about the ramen dinner. Brian never interrupted once. He just sat and nodded, grunting in affirmation for him. Dan was trembling as he spoke, but it was nice to vent. He knew that Arin and Suzy understood, but it was nice to

about it.

When Dan was done Brian sat back.

“Well, they say that soulmates find each other eventually right?” he asked and Dan nodded.

“I just want to be a good soulmate, Bri.” Dan sighed.

“You will, you are. You and Suzy are friends right? That's where it starts. Just make sure that line of communication is always open. That's how you make it work,” Brian explained.

Dan knew that Brian was speaking from experience. His wife wasn't his soulmate, she had her own. Ross and Holly weren't soulmates with each other, and they functioned fine. Keeping that in mind, he knew he could be the soulmate Suzy deserved. Dan stood and pulled Brian in for a hug.

“Thanks, man,” he said into his shoulder. Brian didn't reply. He just rubbed Dan's back, making sure he knew it was okay.

~~

By the time Suzy had finished the final part of her tattoo she was in love. Hours of being in a tattoo parlor finally paid off. She was getting ready to film a video for her channel, showing off her new tattoo when she got a text from Dan.

She smiled.

Dan was getting more use to their bond. Occasionally Suzy would send Dan smiley faces and he would send one back to her. Writing with her left hand was still something to get use to. She drew a small heart in her hand as a response.

Suzy was a tad curious on how the finish product looked on Dan. She sat back and waited for her phone to go off. When it did she looked to see Dan standing in his new bathroom. His shirt sleeve was rolled up completely and...was he flexing? Suzy blushed and replied with a thumbs up.

~~

The next day at the office, Dan pulled her into a hug, greeting her. She hugged him back and went to her desk.

“How you feeling?” Suzy asked as she sat at her desk.

“Fine, but uh,” he leaned closer to her, “I wanna tell everyone we’re soulmates. In the office at least,” Dan whispered to her. He had been thinking on it ever since his talk with Brian. He had told her about telling Brian after he got home that night.

“Well, who doesn't know at this point? I told Barry and I know Ross knows," Suzy told him as she sat down.

“Oh?” Dan blushed and looked over. Ross was leaning over Barry's shoulder at the table.

“He hasn't teased you because Arin asked him not to since you're sensitive,” Suzy informed him.

“Oh, so...it's okay.” Dan felt silly. He was being silly about this. Nothing had changed and he was being silly.

“Yes. It's okay.” Suzy squeezed his hand for reassurance.

“Right, okay. Cool.” Dan tried to relax. He could take off his jacket if he wanted. Which was nice. He did love his jacket, but sometimes even he could get too hot.

~~

Things were okay, everything felt normal and it was nice. During the work day, Suzy would draw smiley faces on her right arm. She partially did it to get use to using her left hand more. She couldn’t draw on her left because of the tattoo.

She really began to understand a soulmates bond. She would think back to how Arin would look when he would see drawings from Ross and draw something back. It was a look she hadn’t been able to get from him. But, she got pretty damn close. She was sure that was the look she had on her face when she would look down at her arm. Arin was happy for her.

It was their weekly meeting and Dan came shuffling in with his tea. On this particular day he wore a short sleeve shirt. He had to work up too much nerve to walk out of the house without his jacket. This would be the first time he showed off his tattoo publically. He took a breath. Everyone knew so it was okay. Just, the anxiety of people's reactions is what got to him, he tried to shrug it off as best he could.

As he got off the elevator and made his way to the office, Suzy was standing in front of the door. She kicked off the wall and turned to him, smiling.

“Hey.” He quickened his pace to approach her.

“Hey.” She hugged him. It wasn’t a particularly tight hug, but, when they hugged, it felt more grounded. Like gravity wasn’t holding them to the earth, their soulmate was.

“Feeling anxious?” Suzy pulled away and getsured to Dan’s exposed arm. He huffed and nodded.

“Yeah, still don’t know what I’m going to do about it for NSP.” Dan looked at his arm. Suzy rubbed his bare arm.

“You’ll think of something, and let me help if I can, okay?” she asked. He gave her another hug.

“Of course I will. Thanks, Scuze.” He smiled. Suzy smiled brightly at his nickname for her. Only Dan could call her that. It was, in her mind, a rule.

Without thinking, Suzy took Dan’s hand into her own and lead him into the office. Everyone was at the table getting ready for the weekly grump meeting. Ross glanced up and grinned.

“Hey! Lemme see the tattoo, man!” He sat up. Dan was already slightly regretting not bringing his jacket.

“It looks just like Suzy’s, Ross,” Dan groaned.

“I know, but I wanna see!” He sat back down as they got to the table. Suzy had let go to sit next to Arin. Sighing and rolling up his sleeve Dan showed his friends. Suzy grinned and watched Dan rotate his arm, showing everyone.

“Wow, that's exactly identical.” Barry looked at Dan’s arm.

“Duh, they’re soulmates,” Brian snarked as Dan sank next to his friend.

“Okay, out in the open! No one make a big deal out of it.” Suzy waved her hands in the air and pulled out her planner. She didn’t want to dwell on the now obvious and tried to keep everyone on track on work.

~~

Work buzzed around the office as Suzy worked hard. She glanced over at Dan who was sitting at the kitchen table with Arin. They were talking at laughing and her eyes went to the tattoo on his arm. It was still weird seeing her tattoo on him. It did look nice and it made her happy. It was a weird sense of pride. Something she had designed for so long being displayed on her soulmate.

Her mind kept going back to that. She was so use to not having a soulmate. She told herself that she wouldn’t dwell on it anymore, but maybe she needed to talk to Dan about it. She had spoken to Arin about it, but how did Dan feel?

Saving her progress she went over to Arin and Dan. Giving Arin a quick kiss on the lips she faced Dan.

“Hey, was thinking about making a coffee run for the office, can you help?” she asked.

“Sure.” Dan stood and stretched. She hugged Arin from behind and he gave her a pat on the wrist.

“Nab me an energy drink, please?” Arin asked. Suzy typed it on her phone as everyone else gave her their drink order.

Dan offered to drive and Suzy climbed into his car. She had been in his car hundreds of times beforehand, but something was different now. They hadn’t had much one on one time, which was a reason she had asked Dan to come with her.

“I can already feel Ross roasting me from the office,” Dan joked as he pulled out of the parking lot and it made Suzy laugh.

“Since when do you use the word ‘roasted’?” she asked grinning.

“I’m up with the kids lingo!” he defended himself.

“Oh, I can tell,” she teased.

Turning on the radio, Dan bobbed his head to the music. Suzy tried to get into it, but their music interests weren’t always entirely the same. He glanced at her and turned it down.

“Wanna change the station?” he offered.

“No, I like listening to your music.” That was true. She wanted to listen to more of his favorite music anyway.

“You like Gorillaz right?” he asked.

“Yeah, love them,” she smiled.

“Well, here.” He pointed to his glove compartment. Suzy opened it and shifted through.

“There, the aux cord. Play some,” he offered. She laughed and shut the compartment.

“Maybe after we get coffee.” She pointed to the upcoming Starbucks.

Dan parked and they walked inside. The parking lot was full and inside wasn’t any better. It was completely crowded with not a lot of standing room. Suzy groaned, chaotic spaces like this made her anxious. It was too loud and she had to focus on getting everyones order right. She knew the baristas were working hard and she didn’t want to be That Person.

She leaned back and felt Dan standing directly behind her. His hands went to her arms as he gently rubbed them. Her head was against his chest. She could hear his heart and feel his breathing. It was soothing and she tried to focus on that. Shutting out the noise around her and focused on her friend, her soulmate calming her down.

It was finally their turn and she was able to nail the order properly. Dan didn’t leave his spot from behind her, ushering her from the register to the pick up area. He only left her to grab cup carriers and straws. Finally grabbing their order and making sure everyone was accounted for they hurried out of there.

Getting back in the car, Suzy held the coffees in her lap. Dan leaned over to get the aux cord from the glove compartment.

“We don’t have to listen, it’s okay!” Suzy felt bad, thinking Dan was just putting on music only she would enjoy.

“It’s fine Scuze. I know who the Gorillaz are, I just don’t listen to them a lot,” he explained as he plugged his phone in.

“That’s nice Dan, thanks.” She smiled.

“Was I not nice before?” he asked.

“No just…” She sighed. “You….you feel this right? This... I don’t know how to describe it.” She looked down. Dan set his phone down and sat back.

“I think? What do you feel?” he asked.

“Just...I’ve just gotten so use to not having a soulmate and I’ve known him for so many years and I just didn’t know. It feels like I wasted time,” she explained. Dan chewed on his lip and listened to her.

“Is that silly?” she asked. He shook his head.

“No, I don’t think so. It apparently is a more common occurrence that people think,” he told her.

“Really?” she asked.

“Yeah, I uh, googled it.” He blushed.

“That was smart of you,” she sighed. “I should have done that,” she admitted to herself.

“Hindsight twenty twenty, baby.” Dan had began to sip at his tea. She smiled and watched him.

“So...y’know how Arin...gave us his blessing?” she asked. Dan’s brow tightened and he looked at her.

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“Would you ever feel comfortable with….” She made a hand gesture.

“With?” He wanted her to continue.

“Being physical?” she asked. Dan flushed and looked at the steering wheel.

“I um…” he studdered.

“We don’t have to! Of course! I was just…” Suzy was blushing. She had been too forward.

“To be honest…” Dan began softly. He glanced up at her. “I...I’ve always thought you were pretty. Remember when we met? I told you, you...you had this look about you and it...floored me.” He huffed and bit his lip. Suzy realized what he had meant. Had he always liked her that way? Did she feel the same and just, mistook her feelings of a close friendship for something deeper.

“Dan…” She looked down at his hand and slowly reached for it. Covering his hand with hers and could almost feel his pulse. She could feel everything, just from his hand. It felt right, perfect.

The car had gone quiet, cars and conversations could be heard from outside. The iced coffees had collected a good amount of condensation and began to drip on Suzy's jeans. Dan covered her hand with his free one and looked at her. She looked directly at him. There was something about looking into Dan’s eyes that had her mesmerized. Maybe it was a soulmate thing, who knew.

As if acting on impulse and nature, Suzy had leaned forward at the same time as Dan. Their lips met. Kissing Dan was different than kissing Arin. That was Suzy's first thought. Her face felt warm and her heart felt like it was going to explode. Something about kissing Dan was its own brand of perfect. She didn’t want the kiss to end. She kissed deeper and clutched onto Dan’s hands.

Dan sucked in a breath and went in for another kiss. He cupped her face in his hand and hummed against her mouth. Suzy trembled and felt chills through her body. This felt right. It was the most right thing she’d ever experienced. When the kiss did end, they pulled away from each other. Resting their foreheads against one another and caught their breath. Dan never moved his hand from Suzy's face.

They gazed at each other, hazel on green.  Suzy smiled and a small laugh escaped from her.

“You’re a good kisser,” she said.

“Years of practice,” Dan teased as he finally pulled away. His face was bright red and he was trembling. He never let go of Suzy's hand. Even when they buckled up and began to drive back to the office. They never let go of each others hand. All the ice in the coffee’s had melted, oh well.

~~

When Suzy got home that night, Arin knew something had happened. She couldn't stop grinning at her desk and Dan’s mood had lifted immensely. Arin sat on the couch beside her and put her feet in his lap.

“So.” He gave her a look.

“So, what?” Suzy asked.

“You kissed Dan,” he pointed out and she blushed.

“Yeah, so, you kiss Ross all the time.” She was slightly embarrassed.

“What was it like kissing him?” he asked.

“Umm….” She tried to think of how to describe it. “It was…grounding? Does that make sense?” Suzy asked and looked at Arin. She was unsure if she used the right words. Arin smiled and leaned over to kiss her.

“I know, exactly what you mean.” He squeezed her hand and she relaxed. Maybe it was a soulmate thing.

When it was time to lay down for bed all Suzy could think about was Dan. She grabbed her phone to send him a text goodnight. Glancing down at her right arm she saw a small crudely drawn heart on her wrist. She smiled, Dan had told her good night.

~~

Dan was staring at his phone and chewed on his lip. Brian had reminded him that they had a photoshoot coming up. He knew he would have to wear his Sexbang outfit, which meant that his, more so, Suzy’s tattoo would be on display. That was something he was still uncomfortable with. He knew how people on the internet with her, on top of the other women in his life. He knew the drama that Suzy had gotten. It had calmed down immensely, but he knows how it affected her if it was the wrong day.

He looked down at the email Brian had sent him. Confirming the date and time. Dan couldn't do it, he knew he would need to cover it up somehow. Despite his friends knowing and accepting his bond to Suzy, the nagging part of his brain didn't trust the fandom at large just yet.

He put his phone away as Arin came into the room. They were recording a few episodes before Arin had to take care of a few meetings.

“Everything cool?” Arin asked sitting down.

“Yeah, Bri and I got a photoshoot coming up and…” he twisted around his arm at Arin. Showing off the artwork on his arm.

“You don't wanna go public?” Arin asked and Dan nodded.

“I know how people can get and Suzy doesn't deserve that,” he said.

“Yeah I get that, but it's not like you can hide it forever.” Arin grabbed the controller. Dan glanced over and saw Ross had written Arin a message.

“How was it when you and Ross went public?” Dan asked.

“Not that big of a deal, since we weren't entirely too big when we did.” Arin was writing something down on his arm. Dan sighed and pushed his hair from his face.

“Maybe in the future, just not now,” Dan said.

“Talk to Suzy about it. That's all I'm saying.” Arin looked at him.

“You're right, I will.” Dan grinned. He was happy to have Arin as a friend.

~~

Suzy was at her desk when she felt two arms wrapped around her. She recognized that it was Dan right away and patted his hands.

“Hey, Dan.” She smiled up at him when he pulled away.

“Hey, I um, can I talk to you about something?” he asked.

“Sure, is it serious?” She saved her progress and fully faced him as he leaned against her desk.

“Ah, yes and no? Just, I want your opinion on something.” Dan wrung his hands together.

“Okay?” She waited for Dan to get out what he wanted to say.

Dan explained his feelings of the upcoming photoshoot with Brian. He knew that he was probably having a knee jerk reaction to protect Suzy. He was protective of all his friends.

“I don't want you to think that I don't care about you or something, I do, it's just…” he sighed. “I know they're just comments.”

“Yeah, no I get you. Maybe, for now, if you want to cover it up, you can.” She curled up in the computer chair. Dan took her hand.

“I don't want to make it a big deal,” he told her.

“I know, it's not but…” she groaned. “It's not a big deal, but people would make a big deal.” She didn't want to think about it. Dan rubbed his hand over hers.

“Something that can't be helped, and people need to deal and it's not something we need to deal with right now?” Dan asked and tried to gauge Suzy's reaction.

“Yeah that's the long and short of it.” She squeezed Dan's hand and looked up at him. “I'm happy you're my soulmate, that's what's important,” she said. Dan grinned and kissed Suzy's forehead.

“I'm happy too.”

~~

That night as Dan laid in bed, he got a text from Brian. He had been talking to Holly and she had a solution to the soulmark problem. It would only be temporary and that's what he needed. He thanked Brian, and would thank Holly later on.

Rolling onto his stomach he texted Suzy the news. She texted back a selfie. She was giving the camera a thumbs up and smiling. She looked tired. She was in her bed and it looked like Mochi was crawling up from behind. He blushed and smiled, should he send one back?

He decided to. He gave her a thumbs up back and sent it. His heart pounding and he waited to see if she saw it. She responded with a black heart. He smiled, it was so like her. He told her good night and curled up for the night.

~~

Suzy had been getting a series of 'in progress’ pictures of Dan. He and Brian were at Holly's place as they worked on covering the tattoo. They were all silly pictures and she was happy they were having some fun. There was a small pang in her heart when his arm was completely covered. She wanted something more from Dan. She wanted to be a little bit more than just his soulmate. She wanted to go on a real date with him. Not a coffee date with awkward confessions and tension. A real date. Just the two of them together, having a good time.

She texted Arin, telling him her idea and asking if she could have the house to herself for the night. She wanted to do something for Dan, she did it all the time for Arin when they were dating. They still did, and in her mind Dan deserved the same.

Once she was given the okay, since it was Arin’s home too, she texted Dan, asking if he would want to have dinner one night. She wasn't sure why she was nervous he would say no, maybe it was nerves. She hadn't had to do something like this for quite some time.

She grinned when she saw Dan's enthusiastic 'yes’ with a bunch of exclamation points and hearts. He was silly and she loved it. Deciding to take a break from her work, she began to plan for their first real date.

~~

When the day came, Suzy decided to work from home. Dan had spent so many nights at their house that she technically didn’t have to clean, but she wanted to. At least parts of the house she knew Dan would be. She was a compulsive cleaner. She knew Arin or Dan wouldn't bug her too much about it.

She balanced out her work. Record an episode or two, clean a bit, record, and so on. She decided to make chicken and dumplings. It was an easy dish and her favorite food. She couldn't remember if Dan had tried hers before. It would be a good start.

She didn't get too dressed up for their date. Her hair and makeup done with a nice pair of jeans with a matching black blouse. Nothing too extravagant. Suzy compulsively checked her phone for the time. Anticipating when Dan would show up, if he would be early or late. Arin had texted her a good luck, second by Ross. It helped her relax just a bit.

The doorbell rang and Suzy went to answer. Dan was standing there. He had definitely showered, his hair was still a little wet and it was pulled back. He even wore a button down and a pair of jeans with no rips or holes in them.

She felt her face go warm. It was one of the nicest she’d ever seen Dan, second to her wedding. He had his arms behind his back. He looked equally nervous.

“So um, I got this for tonight…” He presented her with a bottle of pink Moscato.

“Oh wow!” Suzy took it and looked it over.

“Holly suggested it. I know you're experimenting with alcohol, and she said this was good. It's sweet,” Dan explained.

“You don't drink though." She stepped out of the way so he could come in.

“I drink every now and then. I can have a glass with you,” he told her. Shutting the door, Suzy could hear her heartbeat in her ears. She was about to have a real one on one date with Dan.

“I made chicken and dumplings,” she told him, leading to the kitchen.

“Oh, cool.” Dan stood awkwardly in the doorway.

“You can sit down,” she told him and she watched him do so. She sighed

“Dan, relax. You're making me nervous,” Suzy told him.

“I'm sorry. I just don't want to do or say the wrong thing,” he admitted. “It's been a while since I've been on a date and it's you and….” He was beginning to stumble over his words.

Suzy approached him and knelt down to meet him at eye level. She took his hands into her own, and looked into his eyes.

“You're my friend and my soulmate. There's nothing for you to worry about,” she told him.

“Yeah, yeah no, you're right. I'm sorry. I’ll calm down.” He squeezed her hand back and smiled. She gave him a hug and stood fully ready to serve dinner.

~~

Conversation was light as they ate. Dan talked about the photoshoot and how well the makeup Holly applied covered the tattoo. It washed right off when he got home. Suzy had poured the wine and she took an experimental sip. It was very sweet and a tad fruity. She enjoyed another, bigger sip.

“I’ll definitely have to get this again. It's really good.” Suzy grinned as Dan sipped at his.

“It is good. Not really for me, but it's good," Dan told her.

“Does wine go well with macaroons? Because that's all I have,” Suzy joked as went to the cabinet.

“It can now.” Dan stood and cleared the dishes from the table. Setting his glass by the sink, he rolled up his sleeve to rinse the plates off.

Suzy plated a few macaroons and took them to the living room. She was on her second glass and feeling warm. Dan came out, still working on his first glass and sat on the couch.

“Figure we can just watch a movie and chill?” Suzy suggested sitting next to him. She watched as Dan bit his cheek and grinned. She could understand the joke he didn’t say.

“That sounds good.” Dan sat back and put his glass on the table as he took a macaroon. Suzy turned the movie on, a romantic fantasy, and sat next to him.

~~

Suzy wasn't sure when she had passed out, but she did. When she woke up the credits were rolling. She was leaning against Dan. She could feel his warmth, his arm around her, listening to his heart and steady breathing. Both wine glasses were empty on the table and a few of the macaroons remained. Suzy sat up and rubbed her eye.

“Hey sleepyhead.” Dan's voice sounded a little rough. Maybe he was falling asleep too.

“I'm sorry…” she groaned. “When did I doze off?”

“About the middle. You finished the glass of wine, you leaned on me. We were talking and you just stopped answering.” Dan smiled. “It was kinda cute.”

“Ah, I'm sorry. That was rude." she yawned. Maybe she overdid it for the day. With working, cleaning, cooking, and worrying, she exhausted herself and slept through the second half of her date. She felt embarrassed.

“Hey, it's totally fine. I still had a good time.” Dan gave her a quick side hug. “I’ll get out of your hair.” Dan stood and stretched from the couch.

“You...don't have to to yet if you don't want to. You can stay if you want. It’ll just be me,” she told him. Dan pulled his hair tie out and ruffled his hair out a bit.

“I might take you up on that. I'm a little too tired to drive home.” Dan smiled.  

Suzy lead Dan upstairs and he went over to the guest room, knowing exactly where it was. He was even sure he had some clothes in there.

“If you want to use the shower go ahead,” Suzy said from her bedroom doorway.

“Thanks, Scuze. I will.” She crossed the hallway and gave Dan a hug.

“I had a lot of fun tonight. Thank you for coming over,” she told him. He hugged her back.

“I had fun, too. Now go get some sleep, pretty lady.” Dan pet her hair back. Standing on her toes, she kissed his cheek and went to bed.

Before Suzy went to bed, she told Arin that Dan was staying the night and to pick up some breakfast on the way home tomorrow. She was looking forward to a breakfast all together.

~~

In the morning, Suzy woke up to some noise downstairs. Arin must be home. Getting up and shuffling downstairs she saw Ross standing in her kitchen too. He had a cup of coffee in his hand. Bagels and different spreads along with some fruit were on the table. Ross gave her a grin that gave her that vibe. Ross was getting ready to tease her.

“So, how’d it go last night?” he asked.

“Fine. We had dinner and watched a movie.” Suzy went to the coffee maker. “Where's Arin?”

“Pooping.” He pointed to the hallways bathroom. She laughed and shook her head, pouring herself a cup.

“So, how was your night with Dan, hmm?” Ross poked her shoulder. “Have a nice evening?”

“We didn't have sex, Ross,” Suzy mumbled as she fixed her coffee. She would be lying to herself if she denied the thought crossing her mind a few times last night. But they weren’t there, not yet at least.

“Hey, alright. It's good.” Ross rubbed her back. “I'm just teasing you.”

“You're teasing me when I haven't even had my coffee yet,” Suzy whined and leaned against the counter.

“Ohh, don't talk to me till I've had my coffee,” Ross joked and Suzy tried not to smile.

Down the hall there was an audible flush as Arin came out of the bathroom. His face brightening when he saw Suzy. He opened his arms up for a hug.

“Missed you.” He kissed her head.

“Missed you, too.” Suzy kissed his cheek.

“Where’s Dan?” Arin went to get a bagel as Ross sat at the table.

“I think he’s still sleeping, let him.” Suzy sat across from Ross.

“So, tell us about last night,” Arin said from the toaster.

“Nothing good. So tame and boring,” Ross complained.

“Even with wine? Who bought this?” Arin held up the bottle of Pink Moscato.

“Dan got it from Holly. It’s really good, you might like it.” Suzy went to put it away. Thinking if she should keep wine chilled her not. She wasn’t sure, she’d ask Holly later.

“I’ll pass.” Arin sat down.

There was an audible sound from upstairs and Dan came down the steps. He wore a white t shirt and his briefs. Ross whistled and pretended to be taken aback, but Dan rolled his eyes. This wasn’t the first time anyone in the room had seen him in just his underwear.

“Morning, guys.” Dan went to make tea. Arin and Ross gave their respective good mornings.

“Arin brought breakfast.” Suzy grabbed a bagel.

“Upon your request.” Arin poked her.

“And, you got it, didn’t you?” She stuck her tongue out at him.

Once bagels were toasted and morning coffees and teas were made, the four sat at the table. Arin beside Ross, across from Suzy, who was sitting next to Dan. Arin and Ross were talking about their night of streaming on Twitch. Suzy listened as she glanced over at Dan. His hair was wild, even after just a night of sleep with, what she assumed was, freshly washed hair. She watched his face as he grinned, how his nose would scrunch up and his smiled would grow bigger. It was a nice morning.

~~

The pictures from the photoshoot were sent to Dan and his tattoo was covered fine. He was grateful for it, at least for now. It was weird seeing his arm so bare now. He had gotten so use to the sleeve always being there. He looked down at his arm and traced a few of the designs.

Another email had popped up from Brian. He had to cancel one of their recording sessions which confused Dan. Brian was never one to really cancel. Pulling out his phone, he called Brian.

“Hello?” Brian answered.

“Hey, just wanted to check on you. Why did you cancel?” Dan had gotten right to it.

“It's not a big deal. I'm gonna have the baby that week and I can’t really be recording all that time,” Brian explained.

“Ah, I get ya. Do you need any help at all?” Dan offered. If he wasn't going to be working on the band, he at least wanted to help his friend.

“No, Holly's gonna be over for the week.” Brian sounded like he was walking around.

“What about Ross?” Dan was looking at his emails.

“He's going to Texas with Arin? Remember? For the con?” Brian stated, obviously.

“Oh, that's the same week?” Dan looked at his calendar. His mind had been all over since his date with Suzy. They went on a handful of dates after that first one. Mostly just out to a meal of some kind.

“Yeah, you okay?” Brian asked.

“Yeah, just a bit all over,” Dan admitted. He sighed and sat back. He had found the email Arin had sent him and he completely forgotten.

“Need help getting back on track?” Brian offered.

“No, I got it.” Dan and Brian said their goodbyes and they hung up. He now had a full week open. If he wasn't recording or working on the band, what could he do?

Later at the office Dan was sitting and eating lunch. Suzy had come up to sit across from him.

“Hey,” she greeted him.

“Hey.” He grinned at her as he sipped his tea.

“How's recording?” she asked.

“It's fine. We're going long today since Arin’s going to that con,” Dan explained.

“Yeah, I keep telling him he needs to pack, but he hasn't yet.” Suzy laughed.

“He’ll do it the night before. You know this,” Dan joked.

“For real.” Suzy began to eat.

“So, um….” Dan fiddled with his sandwich and looked at Suzy. “You’ll be home all that week, right?” he asked.

“Yeah I gotta do scheduling and housework and stuff,” she explained.

“Would you want any help? I'm suddenly free,” he asked.

“If you want. I'd like the company honestly,” Suzy told him.

“Yeah, totally!

“If you just wanted to stay over too, that would be okay.” Suzy glanced at him.

“Oh?” He went pink in the face.

“Yeah.” Suzy focused on eating. She was trying not to think about how hot her face felt. She'd been having feelings and thoughts and was unsure how to bring it up to Dan.

“Okay, yeah, if you want me to stay over I can do that,” Dan told her. She smiled at him and texted Arin.

~~

Suzy had cleaned the house for the second time that week. With Dan staying over she wanted most of the house to be cleaner than normal. She kept the house pretty tidy on her own, her nerves were just kicking her to do more.

Arin was setting his bags by the door when Suzy dropped off another trash bag.

“Can you take this out?” she asked.

“Do we really have that much trash?” he asked grabbing it.

“From what I cleaned, yeah.” Suzy pulled her hair back.

“You know Dan's seen the house in worse condition,” Arin pointed out.

“I know! But he’s going to be here for a week so it should be as clean as possible,” she defended herself.

“Don't overstress, okay? It's just Dan. It’ll be fine.” Arin rubbed her arms.

“I know.” She looked up at him. “And...if Dan and I decided to…”

“Just use protection.” Arin hugged her.

Suzy rested her head against Arin as she hugged him back. She and Dan had kissed a few times, especially on their dates. It made her happy and she could see the look on Dan's face. He lit up like a tree whenever they kissed or held hands. With him being there for the week, it did have implications, but she was going to take it one step at a time with him.

~~

With Arin on his flight with Ross and Brian occupied with his child and Holly, Suzy planned stuff she and Dan could do. She wanted Dan to have a relaxing week. She didn't want to do much running around, but looked up stuff that seemed interesting to keep them occupied.

She heard Dan's car pull into the driveway and she opened the door. He came right in with his backpack slung over his shoulder. She noticed right away he was wearing his leather jacket. Maybe he had gone somewhere before he came over.

“Hey, girl.” He grinned and gave her a hug.

“Hey, good drive?” She hugged him back and lead him to the living room.

“Yeah it was fine. No big.” Dan sat and took off his jacket.

“That's good. I was thinking that we can just chill. I gotta take one day to do KKG though,” Suzy explained.

“Yeah, that's totally fine! I brought my notebook and laptop, so if you need me out of your hair just lemme know,” he told her.

“I don't want you

of my hair. I just don't want you to be bored.” Suzy grinned.

“You could never bore me, baby.” He gave her a silly grin and she rolled her eyes.

“You're a nerd,” she teased.

“A nerd who's your soulmate!” Dan laughed. Suzy huffed and held back a grin. Dan was too cute. It was also affirming to hear him say that. She sat next to Dan and held his hand.

“We're gonna have a fun and relaxing week right?” she asked.

“Right!” Dan agreed.

“Just hanging out doing what we do?” she asked.

“Of course!”

“Which is what?” Suzy asked.

“I'm not sure, but I’m confident you’ll tell me!” Dan concluded and Suzy laughed. He bumped his head into her shoulder and laughed with her.

~~

Suzy ordered take out for convenience. Keeping in mind Dan’s particular diet, she ordered stuff that he could easily eat. The TV was on and playing a mindless show neither of them were particularly paying attention to.

“This is boring, do you want to turn something else on?” she asked, looking at him. Dan looked up from his phone and shrugged.

“Go for it, baby. I don’t care,” Dan said.

“Yeah, but I want your input.” Suzy pressed. Dan grinned and thought.

“A movie could be good,” he said. She grinned and grabbed the remote. Going to Netflix she scrolled through to see what looked good.

“Oh my god, The Last Unicorn is on here! Suzy, please!” Dan gave her a puppy dog look she couldn’t say no to.

“Sure, you’re like a little kid,” she teased.

“Don’t kinkshame me, Scuze!” Dan said in a defensive tone and Suzy laughed loudly. Falling back onto the couch and placing a hand on her chest. Dan laughed with her, he was enjoying the one on one time with her. The passing signs of affection at the office could only do so much. He enjoyed every second of it. However, just being in a safe environment with just her was...special.

It was special time with him and Suzy, his friend, his soulmate. Dan knew that she was always an important person to him, and the validation, and, he thought, privilege he had to be her soulmate, he cherished. He scooted closer to her on the couch and put his arm around her. He gave her a tight hug and pet her hair back.

Suzy hesitated for just a moment and hugged him back. Resting her head on his shoulder, she took a moment to herself. She enjoyed being this close to Dan. Something, she assumed it was their bond, felt very grounding about him. She could look at Dan and feel assured that she was suppose to walk on the earth. Arin had said something similar about Ross many years ago. It was an alien feeling, but a lovely feeling.

The living room grew quiet. The noise from the TV seemed to fade into the background as Dan and Suzy sat with one another. Suzy could hear Dan’s heart and breathing against her ear and she felt it to her core. He was a real person who existed and it felt like he existed for her. Apart of her hoped that Dan had felt the same about her.

Suzy looked up at Dan and her nose grazed his ever slightly. He grinned and pulled her closer, gently kissing her cheek.

“Thank you for having me over. I can’t remember if I thanked you yet, but I’m thanking you now.” Dan grinned. Suzy huffed out a laugh.

“You’re welcome,” she said politely. She pecked the underside of Dan’s chin. Dan ran his fingers under Suzy’s chin so she would look up at him. He kissed her gently.

“Have I told you that you’re beautiful?” he asked her. Suzy blushed and grinned as she looked away.

“If you’re gonna get sappy I’ll need a drink,” she teased.

“Why?” Dan asked, sounding sincere.

“Because you’re being cute and it's making me feel flustered.” Suzy pulled away slightly, but Dan still held her.

“I’m just telling you how I feel. I’ve…” He bit his lip. Suzy raised an eyebrow and faced him fully. “I’ve just been really thinking about my feelings. I think it's because I’m gonna be here all week?” he said as he looked up as he processed a few thoughts.

“Like what?” Suzy asked.

“Well...I mean, I’ve always sorta had a crush on you. Even back when we met, I had a small crush.” Dan looked away for a moment, but forced himself to look back at Suzy. He had to be direct about his feelings with her.

He looked down at Suzy, his gaze going to her eyes. He always went to her eyes first. He always got captivated by how green they are. His face felt warm as he held onto her hand.

“You had a crush on me?” Suzy asked.

“Ah, yeah. A small one. I-I thought at the time, it was just me being lonely in a new place, y'know? So, I just ignored it.” Dan looked away from her.

“That...I mean, it makes sense.” Suzy watched Dan carefully. She had no idea Dan had a crush on her at all.

“Have you thought about that at all? When we met? I know it’s been a long time…” Dan asked her.

“A little yeah. More like, what would I have done if I knew back then, y’know?” Suzy asked.

“Yeah.” Dan huffed and leaned back on the couch to stare at the ceiling.

Suzy leaned against Dan’s shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist. She pressed her ear against his heart and held him reassuringly.

“You, could have told me back then and it would have been okay. We would have figured it out, and it would be okay…” Suzy said softly. Dan wrapped his arms around Suzy. Just letting himself hold her. He ran his hand along her back comfortingly. Just enjoying being close to her. Suzy closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“I understand how Arin and Ross feel now…” she said.

“Hmm?” He looked down at her.

Suzy didn’t move, she still rested against Dan. Being like this gave her the confidence to speak her mind.

“Arin and Ross...whenever they’re together, they’re like in their own little world. I’ve told myself for years I understood, that it was like my relationship with Arin but...but, its not,” Suzy admitted. “A soulmate bond and a relationship...it’s similar in feeling, but there's a noticeable difference in feeling,” Suzy said. Dan nodded.

“It makes sense…” Dan rested his head against the top of Suzy’s. “I’m just happy to have this with you,” he told her.

“I’m happy too, Dan.” She grinned.

Dan was leaning in to kiss her once more when the doorbell rang. Dan jumped back to the other end of the couch and looked panicked. Suzy couldn't help but grin and giggle at him.

“Don’t worry, my parents will be gone for a while,” Suzy teased as she stood to answer the door. Suzy got their order and brought it out to the living room.

“We still okay to watch The Last Unicorn?” She asked.

“Yeah.” Dan repositioned himself and took the food that was given to him.

~~

Suzy had only seen The Last Unicorn on two different occasions. The movie in particular held no significance to her, but seeing Dan happy made her pay a little more attention.  She listened to Dan hum along with the theme of the movie with a relaxed smile on his face. This must really mean a lot to him, Suzy thought. She curled her legs to the couch and watched. She could appreciate the nostalgic look of the movie, and the music was good. At one point in the movie, Suzy laced her fingers around Dan’s. He turned to her, giving her a small, happy grin. It made her heart swell with joy. She was so happy to be here with Dan.

When the movie ended, Dan sang along with the end credits. Suzy bobbed her head to the beat and watched Dan get into it. She yawned, it was getting late and she wanted to go to bed. She stood and stretched. Dan glanced over and found himself caught off guard. Suzy's shirt had ridden up ever so slightly. He could see a bit of exposed skin. He felt his face get hot, feeling like he should look away. Dan had seen her in a bathing suit many times before, but being in her home alone, his mind went places.

Suzy glanced down at Dan, realizing his voice had trailed off.

“You okay?” she asked. Dan snapped out of it and nodded.

“Yep! Totally fine!” He tried to brush it off. Suzy grinned and turned the TV off.

“Headed up to bed?” Dan asked.

“Yeah, wanna come?” she asked.

“Yeah, it is getting late.”

Suzy put away the leftovers from dinner as Dan went to get his bag. He put it over his shoulder and headed upstairs and to the guest room. Setting his bag down, he heard Suzy knock on the door and slowly peek in.

“Um...Dan?” she asked.

“What’s up?” Dan asked. He was beginning to take his pants off, but held them in place when he heard the door open.

“I um...If, you want to sleep in my room, you can.” She was visibly nervous as she spoke.

“Oh!” Dans eyes widened and shook his hands. His jeans fell around his ankles, taking a step he tripped and fell on his face in front of the door. There was an audible thud when he hit the ground.

“Dan!” Suzy knelt down and held her hand over her mouth. She struggled to not laugh. It was the most Dan thing he had done since he came over. Dan groaned and sat up, his pants still around his ankles. He pushed the hair from his face and huffed.

“Tell no one,” he said and Suzy shook her head.

“I make no promises,” she laughed.

Dan sat back and took off his jeans completely. He didn’t see a point in pulling them back up. He crossed his legs and looked over at Suzy, kneeling before him. She was still grinning over the fact that he fell. He playfully pouted.

“Aw, Dan! I’m sorry.” She grinned and rubbed his shoulder.

“You want me to sleep in your bed?” Dan asked. Making sure he had heard her properly. Suzy nodded and pushed some hair behind her ear.

“I do. I uh, I wanted to ask you the last time you stayed over, but it felt like it crossed a line. At the time at least,” she admitted to him.

Chewing on his lip, he thought it over. His heart pounded at the thought and tried to not let his mind wander too much, especially because he didn’t have the protection of his jeans. He glanced over at Suzy, whose face looked hopeful. It had been some time since he’d shared a bed with anyone, and the idea of sharing one with Suzy excited him. Suzy's face faltered a bit.

“If you're not comfortable, you can say no,” she assured him.

“No, no! I just wasn’t expecting being asked.” Dan took her hands. “If you’re comfortable, I’m comfortable.” He grinned at her and she nodded.

“I am comfortable,” she told him.

Dan moved his bag to Suzy's bedroom. Mochi and Mimi were already curled at the end of the bed. Suzy hadn't come into the room yet so he climbed into the bed himself. He kept forgetting that Suzy's bed was a canopy bed. The curtains surrounding them were a deep red that matched the sheets. It was a very gothic look, very Suzy. He climbed under the covers and tried to not disturb the cats at the end of the bed.

Suzy came into the room and shut the door. Turning off the light as she came over to the bed. She wore a simple tank top and shorts. It was one of the few times Dan saw her with no makeup. He liked it, she seemed the most herself this way. His heart ached for her, he knew it did.

She laid back and pulled the covers over herself and Dan did the same.

“It’s so cozy,” Dan commented.

“Yeah, reasons I love canopies.” Suzy grinned. Dan grinned back and laid on his side, trying to get his head comfortable on the pillow. Biting her lip, Suzy curled closer to Dan. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head beside his, their faces inches from each other. Suzy grinned up at Dan, who was visibly flustered. She kissed the tip of his nose and got comfortable.

“Good night, Dan,” she yawned.

“Night, Scuze.”

~~

In the morning, when Suzy woke up, she forgot that Dan was in the bed with her. Rubbing her eye and looking at him she saw he had taken off his shirt at some point in the night. It was a little warm, she understood. She glanced at her own tattoo on his arm, admiring it. She felt a sense of pride being able to see it. Getting up, to quietly start her routine, she got dressed and made coffee for herself. She wanted to go for a walk and apart of her wanted to ask Dan if he wanted to come, but she decided to let him sleep.

She noticed there was an extra spring in her step as she went on her normal route. She felt good about herself, even happy. It wasn’t particularly hot yet and knowing Dan was at home comforted her. She liked how she wasn’t alone while Arin was gone. Apart of her worried that she was just using Dan, but she shook the feeling away. They had talked and came to that understanding. Everything they had done, Dan had willingly agreed to.

Coming back later on she saw Dan in the kitchen. He was kneeling down petting Mochi as he waited for his tea to brew. He grinned up at her.

“Morning, Suzy.” His voice sounded groggy.

“Morning, sleepy head.” She came into the kitchen and he went to hug her, but she stepped away.

“No, I’m all sweaty and need to shower,” she laughed. Dan gave her a look and pulled her into a big bear hug. She playfully yelled as her feet were lifted off the ground. He set her back down and grinned.

“I don’t care if you’re sweaty,” he told her. Suzy took out her hair and headed upstairs.

“I’m going to shower,” she called.

“I’ll make breakfast!” Dan called back.

“You don’t have to!” Suzy walked up the stairs.

“I wanna!” Dan yelled back. Suzy grinned, she would never get over how sweet Dan was.

Her shower wasn’t too long. She wasn’t planning on going anywhere today. The week was dedicated to relaxing and spending time with her soulmate. She smiled to herself that when she thought of Dan, one of the first things to come to mind was “soulmate”.

Coming downstairs she checked her phone. Arin sent her a good morning text and she sent one back. She looked to Dan who was sitting at the kitchen table. She approached him and knelt next to him.

“Hey, selfie with me for Arin and Ross.” She grinned and held up her phone. Dan was holding onto his tea and grinned at the camera. Suzy smiled and took a few. She put her phone down and kissed Dan’s cheek.

“Thanks!” She went to make her coffee.

Suzy had planned to spend the day not doing anything work related. The most she did was answer a few emails. She kept up on social media regarding the con Arin and Ross were at. Dan relaxed on the couch with his notebook. His feet were up as Mimi came to keep him company. Even going as far as walking on his notebook before deciding to sit down.

“Really? You’re going to park right there aren’t ya, Mimi?” Dan asked and tried to move her. Suzy looked over and laughed, grabbing her phone.

“Mimi, stay there!” She aimed the phone at them.

“Don’t encourage her!” Dan laughed as Suzy took the picture.

“Sorry, needed to get that.” She stood and picked Mimi up on his lap.

“Mind if I tweet that out?” she asked grabbing her phone again.

Dans face contorted weird and shook his head.

“Can you not? I don’t want people to get the wrong idea,” he said.

“The wrong idea?” she asked.

“Why I’m at your house?” Dan said it as if it were an obvious statement.

“You’re my friend? Dan people know you come to my house.” Suzy sat in the desk chair. Dan set his notebook on the table.

“I-I know. It’s just, I don’t want people to think things, especially with this showing.” Dan extended his left arm. Suzy’s gaze wavered a bit. She understood what Dan was saying, but a part of it still hurt. She didn’t want to hide their bond if they didn’t have to.

Dan sat up and scooted to the end of the couch closer to her.

“I’m not ashamed or anything. I just don’t want you to get hit with unnecessary bull shit,” he told her honestly.

“Yeah I get you…” She sighed and looked at her computer. “What if…?” she wondered.

“What if?” Dan repeated.

“What if we make a coming out video? That way people know and no one gets blindsided,” Suzy asked. It was on the fly, and they would need to plan it, but she would be free to talk about Dan, more so than she did now, and no one in their friend group would need to hide anything. Dan chewed on his lip.

“We could...could I think about it?” Dan asked and Suzy nodded.

“Sure…” she sighed. Dan tensed and went to her, kneeling in front of her and taking her hands.

“I’m not ashamed I promise. It’s really just…” He sighed. “All the girls I’ve publically been around have gotten awful messages. You get that enough already and I’ll be damned if I add to that,” he said sternly. Suzy nodded and squeezed his hands.

“I know, and I understand that. I just...don’t want to hide,” she told him. She looked into his eyes again. Whenever they had talks like this, that was how she felt the most heard. She felt like she could see into his soul and he could see hers. They both understood. Dan nodded and pecked her on the lips.

“Just, let me think about it this week, please?” he asked. Suzy nodded. She was able to give him that much.

~~

Throughout the day Suzy would keep Dan posted about the con. He got occasional texts from Brian, usually containing pictures of his child and Holly together. Dan glanced over at Suzy, who was consumed in whatever game she was playing and pretended that his heart didn't skip a beat at a certain thought.

When it got later in the evening Dan took Suzy's hand with a grin.

“Let me take you out,” he stated.

“Out where?” she asked.

“To dinner?” he asked.

“We don't have to.” Suzy waved her hand, but Dan took it and kissed her fingers.

“But, I want to,” he said softly.

“Okay.” Suzy grinned. “Nowhere too fancy.” She poked his chest and Dan raised his hands defensively.

“Yes, ma’am,” he promised.

Dan picked somewhere he knew he and Suzy could find something to eat. She was always considerate of his diet and he wanted to do the same. She almost said 'no’ when he pulled into the all you can eat sushi restaurant, but Dan insisted.

The restaurant was cool and Dan was grateful that he decided to wear his jacket. It wasn’t just to hide the tattoo, he was actually cold with how high the air conditioning was on. Suzy sat across from him and looked at the options. They decided to order a variety of different rolls. Some were common favorites and others just sounded too interesting and out there, that it needed to be tried.

After they demolished several rolls, Dan was able to talk Suzy into ordering some green tea ice cream and splitting it with him. It was nice, they used different spoons, but that didn’t stop Suzy from giving Dan a mouthful. She blushed at the face Dan would make when she did so. He was cute and it made her happy.

Suzy offered to drive home since Dan drove to the restaurant and paid for her. Despite his protests, he yielded to her. Sitting back in the passenger's seat, Dan was able to relax. It was nearing sunset and he had to pull down the visor so he wouldn’t blind himself. He settled on glancing over at Suzy instead.

He was amazed at how the sun illuminated her pale face. The different yellows, oranges, and reds decorating her face as they drove. The street lights coming on as they neared the house. Suzy parked and they shuffled inside, too full to really go anywhere, so they went up to bed.

~~

Suzy crawled into bed and laid on her side. She watched Dan pull off his shirt and let his jeans fall to the floor. She covered the bottom half of her face with the sheet, to hide how flustered she got. She hoped that Dan didn’t notice her staring. Crawling into bed beside her, Dan faced her and pulled the blanket over himself. Laying his head on the pillow, he grinned at Suzy.

Suzy scooted closer to Dan and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Just to say goodnight. She was surprised when Dan hesitated to pull away. When she moved back ever slightly, Dan chased her lips with his. Kissing her again, deeper this time. Suzy returned the kiss as she ran her hand along his side. She felt him shiver as he wrapped his arm around her, pulling them closer together.

She wrapped her arms around his back and kissed him as deep as she could. Her heart was pounding in her ear as she teased Dan’s mouth with her tongue. He moaned in the back of his throat and slowly opened his mouth for her.

Suzy took over the kiss. Whimpering against him as she pressed her body against his. She didn’t want to be away from him at all. She wanted to feel his skin on her own. She ran her hand along his back, teasing his hair, causing Dan to make a special noise she hadn't heard before.  

She pushed herself on top of Dan, straddling him as she kissed along his neck. Dan panted as he ran her hands down her back, fiddling for the hem of her night shirt. He panted as Suzy nipped at his collarbone, but he needed consent. He took her by the shoulders and slightly pushed Suzy up and away from him. She gasped and looked down at him. Being held up by him was an experience. His hands were strong and held her in place.

“I-I need to know if you want this…” he stated.

Suzy took several breath as she thought about it. She wanted Dan. She’d wanted Dan for some time, she’s realized. Even before their bond, she wanted Dan in the smallest way. The feelings she ignored, the ones she pressed down and tried to not let plague her mind all rose up to the surface. She took a deep breath and nodded.

“Yes...yes I want you, Dan,” she said.

Dan nodded and sat up to kiss her. He kissed her feverishly as he pushed her onto her back. He took the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head and tossed it onto the floor. Cupping the back of her head with his hand, he kissed her, slipping his tongue in her mouth and grinding against her. She whined and wrapped her leg around his waist, keeping him in place.

It was nothing but soft panting and desperate thrusts. Clothes discarded and forgotten on the ground as they tenderly held each other. Feeling hot pants against somewhat sweaty skin. Hands running along each others body, exploring and learning one another. Cupping faces for gentle kisses. Noses touching and goofy smiles, getting lost in one another.

This is what it meant to be with your soulmate. Absorbing every inch of who they were, body and mind. Seeing the other happy in one of the most raw, human ways. Trembling as Dan and Suzy held each other close as, they reached ecstasy.

They lay on their backs as they caught their breath. The comforter completely discarded, so Dan wouldn’t overheat. His body hot against Suzy’s as they came back down to earth. They stared at the ceiling, Dan’s hand over hers. Suzy glanced over at Dan, his hair a tousled mess and his eyes slightly glossed over. He blinked and looked over at Suzy, his face slightly pink as a smile crossed his face. Suzy reached over with her left hand, taking Dan’s left. Lacing their fingers together she faced him.

“I love you, Dan,” she said softly.

“I love you too, Suzy,” Dan panted. Kissing her tenderly and holding her close once more.

~~

Their life got back to normal fast. Arin and Ross came back from their con, Brian’s wife came back, life went back to normal. Dan and Suzy’s bond stayed though, their love for one another grew more and more, unapologetically. Dan no longer felt guilt in his heart. He made Suzy happy, and she made him happy. Even after one more talk with Arin, just to be sure, everything really was okay. Aside from occasional jokes from Ross, to which Suzy and Dan properly responded, everything was okay.

~~

Suzy was sitting on the bed of her office. She had an extra chair next to her, today was going to be the big day. Her recording equipment set up properly as she waited for Dan to show up. She looked in a mirror to make sure her hair and makeup looked alright. She made sure her tattoo was showing just right. As she fidgeted with the camera, Dan came into the office. He grinned at her as he held a cup of tea in his hands.

“Hey, bug,” she greeted as he walked over. Kissing him, he sat beside her.

“Hey, babe.” He set his mug down and took a deep breath.

“Nervous?” she asked.

“Possibly, but I wanna do this,” he said.

Suzy understood, she was a little nervous too. She remembered how people were when Arin and Ross revealed were soulmates. They didn’t have a big following at the time, but it was still made to be a big deal. She took Dan’s hand and squeezed it, and he squeezed it back reassuringly.

“We don’t have to do this today either, if you don’t want to,” he said. She appreciated him being worried for her.

“I know...same for you, okay?” She looked to him.

There was a moment of silence as they watched each other. Keeping eye contact, they couldn’t lie to each other when they maintained eye contact for too long. It would be too long and there would be no point.

“So, we’re doing this?” Dan asked and Suzy nodded.

“We’re doing this,” she repeated.

“Arin’s gotta make us some ramen when we’re done,” he joked.

“He’s already working on it.” She grinned. Dan nodded and looked at the camera as she hit record.

~~

The video came out about a week later. It was titled ‘A Big Announcement! With Dan Avidan’.

It opened up with Suzy waving to the camera.

“Hey Youtube! It’s Mortemer, and with me I have...Dan!” She presented her arms to him as he waved with his right hand.

“Hello!” he greeted with a grin.

“Okay so, I’m going to guess you’re all wondering what this video is about!” She made a questioning face and Dan mimicked the same, she grinned at laughed at how goofy he was being.

“What is it about, Scuze?” Dan asked her.

“Well, I’m gonna tell you, Dan...and those of you who are watching.” She gestured toward the camera. “So uh, as you guys know a while back I got this super cool and intricate tattoo, remember?” She showed it off to the camera.

“Well, as it turns out um…” Suzy lowered her arm and looked at Dan.

“Should I just?” Dan asked her.

“Go for it!” she encouraged.

Dan stood and readjusted his jacket. He took the sides and gently slid it off. Turning to his left side as the tattoo on his arm showed up on camera. He even flexed a little bit as a joke.

“Woah!” Suzy said in pretend shock, trying not to grin too hard.

“I know, crazy right?” Dan asked as he tossed his leather jacket over the back of his chair. He showed it off to the camera, as if to somehow prove that it was the same tattoo.

“No, Dan did not get the same tattoo as me. It turns out that we’re soulmates!” Suzy announced. Her face flushed a little as she said it and Dan huffed a laugh as he sat down.

“Yeah, like, it’s funny how we went like what? A couple years before we found out?” Dan asked and looked at her.

“Yeah! Definitely weird at first but, now like, I’m beyond happy to know.” Suzy grinned and looked at him.

“Well, yeah, because I went a good thirty years of my life without my soulmate, which is you! So like, at first there was definitely an adjustment period,” Dan said tentatively and looked at Suzy, who nodded.

“Yeah, it was a lot of unknown territory at first, but once we found our comfort zone, things sorta took off from there?” she asked.

“Ah, agreed!” He nodded.

Dan and Suzy looked at each other again and laughed. Thinking back on how things had started out and how they ended up being was definitely a trial for them, but they came back successful on the other side. Suzy took Dan’s hand and squeezed it, he smiled at her lovingly. Suzy grinned back and faced the camera again.

“So uh, yeah! Nothing really much else to say, I think?” she asked and turned to Dan.

“Yeah uh, if you have an questions just uh, I dunno, leave ‘em in the comments?” Dan asked.

“Or you can at me on twitter?” Suzy suggested.

“Please, no invasive or personal questions, please,” Dan cautioned.

“Yeah, like, if you’re gonna ask for gross shit, it’s getting ignored.” Suzy pouted at the camera.

“Yeah, deleted!” Dan said in a cartoony voice.

“Nice Homestarrunner reference,” Suzy laughed.

“Thanks, Scuze,” Dan giggled.

“Well, that’s all I have for today! Till next time, bye everybody!” Suzy waved to the camera.

“Bye!” Dan waved to the camera and looked at Suzy. He gave her a tender hug and kiss on the cheek as the video came to an end.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Check out a rad mix to go with this fic, here!: http://ninjabrian.co.vu/post/176424600280/we-will-grow-old-wont-be-alone-again-game  
> Check out the rad art that goes with this fic!:https://grumpygays.tumblr.com/post/176435398565/my-art-for-the-game-grumps-big-bang-this-year-my


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